July 20, 2025

The Game System

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The Balance of Game and Narrative

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There are many sources of information on how to write a simple branching Game Book online. Almost none of them go over the aspect of implementing r.p.g. rules into gameplay. There is a balance between the two that must be maintained. If the rules are too complex or the battles too drawn out then it begins to destroy the narrative. It pulls the reader away from the story and into the game element alone.  If the game rules are percieved as being overly simplified or barely used during the course of the story then readers are likely to ignore them all together.

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Those rules when properly implemented offer an easy to comprehend system that communicates it's potential for its use as a fully developed tabletop role playing game. Most rules are unable to be expanded and its appearance as such is an intentional illusion used to build up the story's narrative. To give the reader the idea that the narrative game that they are about to enjoy is but a small window into a larger fantasy world of grand adventure. 

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Code Words

In tabletop R.P.G's a game moderator reveals the world to the player. He also tells the player what he has found in the way of usefull items, clues and hints that open new narrative paths to him. Unfortunately a simple branching story, once written does not allow this type of interaction.  This is where Code Words come in handy.

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Code Words are like switches and keys. Some will open doors and expand the story, others will lock them. Depending on the author some code words are disguised as "found items" and yet others will give a long list of random code words for the player to check off as they progress.  During the course of most games a majority of the code words are aquired through choices made and exploration. Others may only be obtained by performing great feats such as defeating a monster or helping others.

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The Dice Mechanic

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I had an initial  mission goal where the dice mechanic was involved. I wanted to use a d6 "Dice pool". In consulting a collector of game books he had never come across a single game book that used a dice pool.  In the end I chose to modify the "Open D6" system for solo play. 

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In this system a characters attributes are representative of how many dice he has to roll. Once rolled their total has to equal or exceed a given number that represents how difficult a task is to accomplish.